Equity update shows improvement but more to be done

Massey University and the Tertiary Education Union have issued a Pay and Employment Equity Update Report comparing data from a review conducted in 2010 with the same data from last year.

The aim of the review is to monitor the University’s progress in reducing the gender pay gap overall as well as specific occupational groups and grades, and improving the representation of women at senior levels of the University.

Key findings include:

Forty-one per cent of senior academic positions are now held by women compared with 23 per cent in 2009

Sixty-four per cent of Associate Head of School positions are held by women

Women are increasingly represented in higher grades for professional services staff, with 65 per cent new appointment in the two top grades being women

The gender pay gap is reducing overall

The original PaEE report was the first by any New Zealand university and addressing the recommendations has been part of the combined work of the Pay and Employment Equity Implementation Group, made up of TEU and university representatives.

The timing of this publication is particularly noteworthy given that shortly before MPs left Parliament to hit the campaign trail, National introduced new legislation that would make pay equity much harder to achieve.

National’s plan is to amend the Equal Pay Act 1972 in a way that would place serious obstacles in the way of women making claims to achieve genuine equal pay. The planned law change fails to fully incorporate the pay equity Principles a Joint Working Group of government, business and unions agreed last year.

Labour, the Greens, New Zealand First and the Māori Party all voted in Parliament to oppose the new Bill.

This gives us a real choice in the upcoming election – and a chance to say that equal pay is an issue that we as Kiwis care about and want fixed.

National has shown a complete disregard for what pay equity means. However, if we cast our party vote for Labour, the Greens, New Zealand First or the Māori Party we might finally be able to end discriminatory wage rates for thousands of women.

Let’s not waste the opportunity to vote in a government that is committed to achieving genuine equal pay.